The Submissive Assassin (BxB)

Chapter 81 - Sacrifices

Nate was surprised.

He hadn't been here ever since he was kidnapped by Eric. The last sight he saw in this apartment was his aunt's body on the in his bedroom, blood seeping along the floor underneath her head. His last few seconds was being tore apart from the body and dragged out of the room, where he was instantly knocked unconscious.

He thought these memories would overwhelm him the moment he was inside the apartment, but none of them did. Rather, he didn't feel anything. Not a trace of gloom or sorrow; the only thing that swirled the pits of his stomach was the rage as he waited for the truth to be revealed.

It was Dante that gripped the handles on his wheelchair. They entered the apartment first, then walked in Melle, and Draco followed last, needing to bend down to be able to fit through the door. When they were all inside, Draco closed the door behind them and exhaled a long sigh. "Welcome back, Nathan." A small chuckle left his lips before he added, "You're returning to this place as a different man."

They all walked to the living room, where Draco fell onto the couch and waved his hand as he demanded, "Did Nathan have anything to drink? Dante, go fetch my something. I need to let loose before we—"

"Can we get to the point? I don't have all day."

Although Melle's tone had been strong, it was clear by her quivering fingers tightly gripping the edge of her dress pants, that she felt vulnerable surrounded by them. Her purse was securely clenched to her side, even though she knew Draco had no care for her possessions. She swallowed hard, seeing Draco's eyes divert towards her, examining the way her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed even more.

It was as if she hadn't spoken, since Dante didn't hesitate to reach the kitchen and pull open the fridge. The smell of old spoiled food made him wrinkle his nose, but he did find a couple cases of beer. Those drops of alcohol wouldn't even bring his father close to being tipsy, but he still brought them to him anyway, settling them on the living room table and taking one for himself.

Draco snickered, exhaling a sigh as he felt his body refreshed from the cold beverage. "I thought it would be stale from sitting in that fridge for some time, but it's absolutely—"

"I need to leave," she snapped loudly and Draco's words instantly halted. This time, she grabbed the handles of Nate's wheelchair and sent them a challenging gaze. "Nate needs some rest and I have a flight soon."

Both Dante and Draco turned to her, their eyes glancing to her trembling hands tightly squeezing the handles before returning to her eyes that continuously shifted between both their gazes. "We could start using this apartment as a hideout," Draco suggested without turning away from her, although it was clear he wasn't addressing her. "Nathan won't be needing it anymore."

Dante opened his beer can. "I was hoping Nate and I could stay here, away from everyone."

That made Draco raise an eyebrow before facing his son. "I hadn't thought of that," he admitted, but from the look in his face, he wasn't completely against that idea. He chugged his can of beer in two gulps before squeezing it with two fingers and throwing it to the side. "Your brothers would definitely be jealous of that."

"Then maybe letting them have a little more freedom could do some good." After a slight shake of his father's head, evidently not too fond of the idea, Dante continued, "Bronsted and Reno's only interaction with the outside world is through missions."

"They're immature and foolish," Draco hissed with a curl of his lip. He had already crushed four cans of beer by that point. "They'll make mistakes—"

"I said..!" she slammed her heel against the floor, again grabbing their attentions, "I have a flight soon and I am taking my son with me. We will be leaving now." With that, she twirled the seat around and headed for the door.

But she didn't expect to receive protest from Nate, who attempted to stop the wheels from moving, but was still too weak to resist. "Mom, at least let me hear what they have to say."

"No, enough is enough." She continued towards the exit, sensing relief by each step closer as she was soon to be liberated from them. The atrocities she had witnessed from Draco was enough for her to consider him a monster, and since she had already paid respects to Judith, her best bet was to leave and never return to this city.

She ignored the arguments from Nate as he continuously attempted to slow down her speed, cussing at himself for still being unhealthily frail. However, he didn't understand why neither Draco nor Dante were getting up for do anything. Dante had preached for him to stay, but he merely stared with blankness in his eyes, as if he was indifferent with the thought of Nate staying or leaving.

The moment her fingers touched the doorknob, she felt all the weight over her chest rise, seconds from freedom as she pulled it open.

However, she had not expected for the blond haired boy she had just met to be standing at the entrance, a sheepish smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head. He was already seeing the disapproved gaze from Draco and his cheeks instantly flared pink. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said as he pushed both Melle and Nate back inside and shut the door behind him.

From the way he stayed standing in front of the closed door, it was clear that he had been ordered to guard it, which made Nate frown.

Draco finally stood from the couch, exhaling a long irritated sigh. "How do you fail at one of the simplest task on earth, Jake?" he scolded. "You were supposed to hold the damn door closed from the outside."

He lowered his head, too embarrassed to meet Draco's eyes. "I know, I know I just..." his lips tightened for a second before he admitted, "...I kind of wanted to..." his eyes glanced rapidly to Melle's frightened face, before returning to Draco with a small giddy smile that only Melle took notice of, "...to witness it...all..."

Melle felt a drop of sweat slide along her spine. For her, it felt as if hours had already gone by in the presence of Draco. Not only was she inches away from freedom, but it had all collapsed when Jake returned them inside the apartment. It was then that she realized that this had all been planned; she should have expected this. The letter from Draco had made her believe that he had changed, that he had finally discovered mercy, but it was clear that she was wrong.

That was when she asked in a quiet quivering voice, "Witness...witness what?"

And it was all revealed the next instant, as she saw the demonic smile lengthening along Draco's lips. The one she remembered from years ago, the same ones that failed to have any empathy towards anyone.

She should have known that it would be her turn next.

"I'm building a soldier here, Melle. The only way to become stronger is through sacrifices, you already know this."